A Somewhat Happy Christmas
by Liz Hollow
Summary: Hermione and Draco go over to the Weasley's house for Christmas, and not all goes as planned. She chokes on food, has a face full of potatoes, and Fred and George hate her. How could Christmas get any better than this?


**A Somewhat Happy Christmas**

"Hermione," a snappy voice called, and I jumped about a foot off the ground. I spun around, and glared at my boyfriend, and put a hand on my chest. "Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you that bad," he added apologetically, and I moved my hands to my hips.

"What do you want? I'm trying to get ready here. We're going over to Ron's house, and I don't want to look like…like some type of…rag doll!" I retorted at him, and my boyfriend smiled lightly. I had no idea what he was smiling about; it was a serious matter.

He walked closer to me and snaked his hands around my waist, slipping beneath my hands. His blonde hair fell over his cool, icy blue eyes. "Sorry," he repeated. "But I just wanted to let you know that I needed the shampoo from the bathroom. I can't really take a shower without it, unless you want my hair to be disgusting."

"Oh," I said, feeling rather guilty. "It's over on the shelf in the bathtub. Hurry up though, I need to take a shower too."

"I'll take my time then," he sneered, taking his hands off my waist and walking into the bathroom. He came back out with the shampoo, and gave me a quick peck on the lips. I smiled at him, but pointed at the door. He frowned at me, and walked out.

"Sorry Draco, maybe another time, when I'm not trying to get ready," I called after him, and I heard him scoff loudly. "Oh, quit whining!"

I undressed myself, first closing the door to my room so Draco wouldn't do anything naughty, then went into the bathroom. I turned on the shower, and waited until the water was warm. I stepped in, letting the warm water hit my back. I grabbed some soap and cleansed my body. I then shampooed and stepped out. I felt clean. Living in the same house as Draco didn't exactly make me feel clean a lot.

I wrapped myself in a towel and walked out of the bathroom back into my room. I scowled, and picked up some of Draco's dirty undergarments that he left in my room. I threw it into the dirty hamper, muttering his name and saying some inappropriate things about him.

I picked out my dress, a light blue one. The top of it fit rather tightly on me, but the bottom was looser, and went down to my ankles. I slipped it on, and looked over myself in the mirror. My brown hair, although still bushy and unkempt (not to mention wet), went nicely with the dress. I used a drying spell on my hair, and I looked back in the mirror. I thought that was a tad better. But I figured I should but on a little bit of makeup, as this was a nice occasion.

When I finished, I went out into the living room, and found my shoes. I put them on; silver high-heels. I sat down, and waited for Draco to hurry up. Men always say women take long, especially twenty-four year old women like myself. But they are oh, so wrong. Draco takes the longest out of _anyone_ I know. Including women.

He finally came out. He was wearing a tuxedo, with a green tie. I bit my lip, but didn't say anything to him. I just smiled, and stood him, giving him a quick kiss.

"You look great," I said, and he shrugged lightly. "And you think I take forever, don't you? Look who beat you. And I have to put on make up, and everything. Honestly, sometimes I think…nevermind. Now, you'll behave, won't you?"

"Now, or at the Weasley's house?" Draco smirked, and I grabbed his tie, pulling him down to my height. "Okay, okay, I'll behave the best I can. You'll have to lighten up a bit though, I mean, Potter, the Weasley's, and…the Weasley's will be there. It's kinda hard when you're surrounded by all the people you hate."

"I hated you for six and a half years. Look at us now," I hissed, giving him another kiss. "So behave, please. Or you'll never get one of those again." I let go of his tie, and he looked down at it, displeased, and fixed it.

We both disapparated, landing in front of the Weasley house. Draco began to snicker, but I gave him a grave look, and he stopped. It's not like our house was much better. Well, on second thought, it was. But it wasn't as warm and welcoming. The Burrow…now that was a different story. It looked so light, and airy. So kind, and warm, and welcoming. I loved the Burrow more than I loved my own house.

I knocked on the door, and waited besides Draco. Harry opened the door, with Ginny by his side. He smiled, and gave me a hug, as did Ginny. They only shook hands with Draco, their lit up faces turning darker. I wanted to laugh, and yet another part of me wanted to slap them both. It i was /i funny.

"Hermione, it's great to see you! And…you too Mal—Draco," Harry said, letting Draco and me walk into the house. I smiled at him, letting him know that I appreciated his…civil…ness. I don't even think that's a word, but too bad. I still appreciated it.

"Hermione! M—Draco…" Ron yelled, then trailing off as he walked into the room, and saw Draco. He gave me a hug. He just looked at Draco, and I frowned. "Thanks for coming…and, uh, bringing Draco. It's most definitely a pleasure."

"Thanks Ron," I said, a hint of sarcasm in my voice, but I didn't think he noticed. "Oh, damn it, Draco, we forgot the presents!" I suddenly realized my hands were empty, and smacked myself in the face. "I'll go back and get them."

Draco grabbed my arm and bent down to my level. "I'll go get them. You settle in, and…get more acquainted than you already are. They're on the kitchen table, aren't they?" he asked, and I nodded. I knew he was only offering because he wanted to get out of here. But I let him go anyways. I'm nice like that.

With that he disapparated, after letting go of my arm. I turned back to Harry, Ginny, and Ron, and smiled again. "Sorry about that. I was rushing…I guess. So I kinda forgot the presents on the kitchen table. Draco's messy anyways, he probably left food all over the table. I would have never found them," I laughed. They didn't do anything. What a Christmas this was already turning out to be.

Ginny finally piped up, "How's he treating you?" I felt for a moment, insulted. How was he treating me? She didn't think he was treating me well. If she didn't, I don't think any of them did. I turned red in the face, and brushed my hair behind my ear.

I finally decided to say something. "He's nice. He treats me fine. Why? Just because he was in Slytherin—"

"I didn't mean it like that, Hermione, sorry," Ginny apologized, and I smiled lightly. "I just…we're worried about you, you know?"

Ron nodded. "Yeah, Hermione, he isn't—"

"I don't want to talk about it, okay. I just want you guys to be nice to Draco. I already told him to behave himself, so…just, you guys do the same. I want this to be a special Christmas, not some…some _disaster_!" I growled, my voice rising up an octave. I bit my lip, and sighed. "I just want you all to settle your differences. That's my Christmas wish I guess."

"Oh! Hermione, dear! It is _great_ to see you! I'm so glad you could make it. Oh, did you bring Draco, like we requested? It'd be so nice to meet him…I know Arthur has a bit of a grudge against the Malfoy's, but if you…in any case, did you bring him?" Mrs. Weasley asked, giving me a hug.

"Yeah, I just forgot the presents, so he went back to get them for me. How are you and Mr. Weasley handling…you know? Percy's death?" I asked in a whisper, and Mrs. Weasley just smiled at me.

"We're doing fine dear. Thank you for asking though," she whispered back to me, and I heard a i pop /i from behind me. I turned around, and Draco was holding the many presents in a single red bag. All he needed now was a white beard, and a red hat. I could arrange, that, but instead I just grabbed the bag away from him, thanking him with a kiss.

"Draco, this is Molly Weasley," I introduced him to Mrs. Weasley, and they shook hands. Mrs. Weasley looked over him for a moment, a slight disapproving look on her face. I just ignored it. She didn't even get to know him yet. Maybe it was the green tie that did it…maybe I should dye it red. Or I could convince her that he's wish the Christmas spirit…green and red. That's why his tie was red.

"What a pleasure it is to meet you, Draco," Mrs. Weasley said to him. I couldn't really tell if she meant it or not. She probably did, considering she wanted him to come to Christmas dinner in the first place.

"I assure you, the pleasure is all mine," Draco said politely, and I smiled, my arms crossed across my chest.

"Mum," another red head said, walking into the room. That was Fred. George came into the room right after him. "Dinner's re—why is Malfoy here?"

"Fred Weasley! He is our guest. Now apologize, and give him a proper greeting. Now," Mrs. Weasley told him, in a stern voice. I stifled a laugh, looking down at the floor to hide my face from them.

"Sorry Malfoy. It's very nice to see you again. But why are you here?" Fred asked, and George raised an eyebrow, also questioning this. Mrs. Weasley put her hands on her hips and sighed, knowing she would never get anywhere with them, if she continued trying to get them to be polite to Draco.

"Your wonderful mother invited me to come along with Hermione," Draco explained, sounded cool and collected. Not at all intimidated. I looked over at Mrs. Weasley, who smiled, and left the room to go into the dining room.

"Why would you come with Hermione?" George asked snottily.

"Because I happen to be her boyfriend, thank you very much," Draco continued, and I felt George's and Fred's eyes fall on me. I didn't want to look up at them. They would give me the death stare, and maybe later beat me up. Well, I'm not so sure about the beating up, but I know they would do something.

"Hermione? And you all knew right? You guys?" George snapped at Harry, Ron, and Ginny. I looked up, and saw them nod. Fred and George looked back at me, giving me the death stare as I had suspected.

"Shut up," I finally retorted, and they glared at me one last time and walked away into the dining room.

"I guess dinner's ready…" Ron said, a little lightheartedly. I half-smiled, and walked into the dining room, Draco's arm around my waist. Ginny, Harry, and Ron walked in front of us, and I looked up at Draco.

"This isn't going as planned I guess…" I muttered to him, and he nodded, kissing my forehead. "Let's just live through the night."

We sat down next to each other in the last available seats. I was next to Ginny on my right. Across from me sat Ron and Harry, smiling lightly at me. I just looked sadly at them, and mouthed, "This is going horribly so far."

"It'll get better, trust me," Harry mouthed back to me, and I nodded. I looked down the table and saw Mr. Weasley, now nearly bald. I smiled at him, and he smiled back, noticing me looking at him.

"How are you doing Hermione? Oh, and this must be Draco," Mr. Weasley said. He was a pretty good actor, faking his smile and all. I knew he hated having Draco here. The Malfoy's were like poison in Mr. Weasley's eyes.

"Nice to finally meet you," Draco replied, and I knew he was a pretty good actor too. Me? No, I am unbelievably bad at acting. Lying, acting? Not my thing at all, no sir. Let's just say I should stick with the books.

I looked at all the food on the table. Before, I had over looked it…literally and figuratively speaking. It looked scrumptious. There was a full beautiful turkey, cranberry sauce, delicious looking mashed potatoes, some roast beef, corn, and sweet potatoes too. I could feel my stomach making room for everything.

"Thank you for having everyone here, with this delicious food. And let Percy rest in peace," Mrs. Weasley said, her eyes closed. I looked up at Ron, his nose twitching as Mrs. Weasley said 'Percy'.

"Everyone can dig in," Mr. Weasley concluded, grabbing a knife and cutting part of the turkey up, and passing it around to people. I placed some potatoes on my plate, along with some turkey and corn, and passed everything to Draco.

"Whoa, Hermione, slow down. I only have two arms," he said, passing the corn to Bill Weasley, who sat next to him.

"Sorry. But that's what a wand is for. Happy Christmas," I said, kissing him.

Harry passed the sweet potatoes to Charlie Weasley, showing off a disgusted face, and I started laughing. Of course, I had food in my mouth, and I started coughing. I started coughing so hard indeed, that my head hit my plate, right where the potatoes are. Finally, I swallowed the food, and sat back up. I had potatoes all over my face.

"Hermione, you have pot—" Draco started saying, but I glared at him.

"I know I have potatoes on my face, I'm aware of that. Don't rub it in," I said, with a hint of spiciness in my tone.

He just smiled at me, and took his napkin and wiped my face off. "You make me feel like I'm three years old, needing help with every little thing I do," I laughed, and he smirked at me.  
"I could feed you too, if you want. You seem to be having a little trouble getting the food _inside_ your mouth," he sneered, and I punched his arm.

For the rest of supper, we were really just talking, eating, bickering, talking, eating, and talking. Yes, I know I said talking three times, and eating twice, but really…that's what we were doing the whole time.

I laughed so many times. I mean, I really did. Harry and Ron were making the most awkward faces, making me laugh so hard I almost hit my face in my potatoes again. I was close, but I didn't, and I continued laughing anyways.

Then Mr. Weasley told this hilarious joke. It was really funny. Mostly because it was really stupid though, but I laughed. It kind of reminded me of something Draco would say when he had his stupid moments.

There were moments where I just started laughing too. I didn't even know why, and everyone would stare at me. Then I'd say that someone had said something really funny. Which they probably did, I was just being loud and obnoxious about it I guess.

We cleaned up dinner in only moments, and sat in the living room together. Draco sat on the couch, at the end, next to Ginny. Harry sat next to Ginny, his arm around her shoulder, and Ron next to Harry at the other end of the couch. I sat on the ground, leaning back on Draco's legs, as he played with my hair.

Mrs. Weasley and Mr. Weasley both walked into the room, holding several presents in one hand, with their wand in the other, lifting more.

"Ginny, oh please excuse me Hermione," Mrs. Weasley said, leaning over me to get to Ginny. I just smiled…and started laughing again.

"Fred, George," she continued, spinning around and giving presents to the twins. "Bill…where are you? Ah, here you are dear. Charlie, here."

"Hermione!" Mr. Weasley exclaimed, handing me a present. I opened it hastily, and found the most beautiful polishing kits ever. It looked antique, old, and dusty, but it was beautiful. I would use it as soon as I got home.

They had finished handing out all the presents, including the ones bought by others, such as myself. There was such a racket of noise, but it seemed like singing to me. The laughter and joy of others. It was pleasing. Mrs. Weasley left the room again, and into the kitchen. More food? I dunno if I could handle any more food.

"Cake everyone! Cake!" she shouted in a moment after. Cake? That's food. I can't handle any more food. I'd probably get it all over my face…again. No big deal though, I guess I could make a little room for cake. It's Christmas after all, we have to eat.

We all headed into the kitchen, slowly, but surely. We all sat down at the table, and Mrs. Weasley served the cake to Ginny, and Harry, before Draco offered to serve everyone else cake. She gladly agreed.

He passed a piece to Charlie, then to Bill. He took quite awhile for Ron's piece, and it was almost massacred, but I was positive he didn't do it on purpose. Although Harry's piece was even uglier than Ron's, so I was getting suspicious. Bill's, on the other hand, happened to be perfect. Maybe…nevermind.

Finally, Draco got to my piece. He cut mine even better than Bill's but took awhile to give it to me. Ginny poked me, and I looked at her, as Draco slid my piece to me. She said she couldn't remember what she was going to say, and I looked down at my piece of cake.

I picked up my fork and scooped up the little flower (along with a bit of cake) at the center of my cake. Draco's eyes were on me, wide, and amused. I delivered him a funny look, but then put the flower in my mouth. Frosting is the best part of a cake anyways.

I bit down on it, and nearly scared myself into oblivion. There was something rock hard in my cake. I gagged, and Draco snickered as he watched me. I spit the cake out onto my plate, and saw something shiny mixed within. I picked it out, and cleaned it off with my napkin—being the neat freak I am.

It was the most beautiful ring I have ever saw in my life. It was gold, with diamonds implanted with in that part, and there was a large diamond in the center. It was beautiful. I held it up, and elbowed Ginny in the side.

"Mum! Mum! Hermione found a ring in her cake!" Ginny yelled, and everyone turned to look at me. I blushed, and held it up for everyone to see. Draco had walked around the table, and taken my hand. I looked at him, expecting him to be by my side, standing, but instead, he was on one knee.

I wanted to scream and cry. I knew what he was doing. I put a hand to my face, covering my mouth, and I felt my eyes well up with tears.

"Hermione Jane Granger?" he asked me, and I nodded. Everyone was looking at us. Mrs. Weasley was clutching Mr. Weasley's shirt, and Ginny had her hand stretched out across the table towards Harry, who had his hand on top of hers. Fred and George, I bet, probably looked enraged.

"I know we had rough years at Hogwarts together. I know that I was the biggest asshole you had ever had the displeasure to meet in your life. I know that. But just look at us now. We are the greatest couple ever. We love each other, we…love each other. As you can see, I didn't really plan my whole speech out, but I'm a man, what can you expect?" he continued, and I laughed as a tear fell down my cheek. I heard Ginny snort next to me, and I looked back at her, smiling as she patted my back.

"Hermione Jane Granger," Draco said, and I knew it was coming. "Will you do me the honour of being my wife?"

I nodded. I nodded so hard, I felt like my head was going to fall off. It probably would've if I didn't stop that second as he put the ring on my finger. Everyone was clapping now, and Draco was kissing me. Ginny was hugging me from behind, and Harry and Ron were almost in tears. I was going to laugh again, but I didn't.

I knew, just then, that this was the greatest Christmas ever. Except for me…having potatoes all over my face, and having all those laugh attacks, almost swallowing and probably choking on the ring, and having Fred and George be all mad at me. I guess it was a somewhat good Christmas. But the ring…this. The ring and all this have made up for it. Happy Christmas everyone! Happy holidays!

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Author's Note: Everything, but the plot, is mi—J.K. Rowling's. Excuse me. Sorry. The plot is mine. That's what is mine.

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!


End file.
